Noor Salman, wife of Pulse Nightclub shooter Omar Mateen, was arrested Monday by the F.B.I. According to The New York Times, prosecutors had been considering charges against Salman for months, unconvinced by her insistence that she knew nothing about her husband’s plans to attack the Orlando, Fla. club on June 12. The shooting resulted in the deaths of 49 people, many of whom were people of color and members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Salman was arrested on charges of obstructing the investigation, as well as aiding and abetting by providing material support to a terrorist. The charges were disclosed by Orlando Police Chief John W. Mina, who went on to say that, “Nothing can erase the pain we all feel about the senseless and brutal murders of 49 of our neighbors, friends, family members and loved ones. But today, there is some relief in knowing that someone will be held accountable for that horrific crime.” NBC News reported that Attorney General Loretta Lynch confirmed the arrest. “We said from the beginning we were going to look at every aspect of this case, every aspect of this shooter’s life — to determine not just why did he take these actions, but who else knew about them, was anyone else involved, is there any other accountability that needs to be had here in this case,” Lynch said.
Officials first began questioning Salman after the Pulse shooting as they worked to find an explanation for Mateen’s actions. At the time, Salman confessed to accompanying her husband to Orlando when he first scouted out the nightclub and visited a Walmart to purchase ammunition. However, she claimed that she had no reason to suspect either action. After all, he frequently bought ammunition for his job as a security guard.
During those early interviews, Salman said that her husband had been beating her and that, while she knew he had been watching jihadist videos, she never had any reason to suspect that he had become radicalized, particularly after the F.B.I. released him from their terrorist watchlist. In speaking with The New York Times after the shooting, Salman maintained that she was nothing but shocked and appalled: “I was unaware of everything. I don’t condone what he has done. I am very sorry for what has happened. He has hurt a lot of people.”
Salman’s arrest shocked relatives, who maintained that she had nothing to do with her husband’s actions. For survivors and relatives of victims of the shooting, feelings were more complicated. However, Orlando Mayor, Buddy Dyer, pledged that “Our community continues to heal and we remain focused on taking care of the needs of their victims and their families.”